Dream Crusher

When I was a little girl, I told my mother that I wanted to be a writer, an author, a journalist! I wanted to share my ideas and my stories with anyone who wanted to read them. I wanted to make writing a permanent part of my life.

On snow or rainy days, I’d plop my old fashion type writer down on our kitchen table and click away at the keys. People invented in my mind, finally being put to paper, given lives of their very own to live. Fresh ink on paper is as comforting as hot chocolate or chicken noodle soup.

My mother seemed content when I was buried in invention. She’d ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I’d tell her the dreams I had in store for the adult version of me. “That’s a pipe dream,” she’d tell me. “You will live a terrible life. There’s no money in writing.”

When you hear this enough, you begin to believe it. The words weigh you down. Writing no longer stayed a dream. It was a wasted idea, a stupid one. Why it must be true because my mother told me so and surely she only wants what is best for me?

Haha! Joke is on,you mom! I work a crappy job with crappy hours. My pay checks are meager. J.K. Rowling however, now that’s a writer rolling in dough.

Why do we as parents pour cold water on the fire of our children’s dreams? Snoochie is an amazing artist – her work reveals the depths of her soul. She thinks in a spectrum of colors. She hears in notes of music. Should I tell her about the starving artist? Her happiness means more to me than if she ever earns a single penny. I do not want to be the dream crusher. I want to be the kindling, feeding the fire.

6 thoughts on “Dream Crusher”

My life ;_;
My dad wanted to become an artist but bc of his father became an engineer instead. He hates his job and is now an alcoholic on anti depressants. Idk if that has a direct relation but I’d be a lot happier as an artist, just saying

It’s never late to start. All parents are so stupid sometimes as all people. Similar story happened whith me also, my mom was always against my dreams, money was forward reason for it and her difficult childhood and unstable situation in our country after USSR was broken. It’s all in the past. In any case, the result of our dreams is depense from us only. We are more developed and intelligent generation than our parents, we have an entire library at hand in the form of the Internet, they were not have so wealth in yourth 🙂

Wise advice & I completely agree Alice. I won’t quit my day job, but I won’t quit writing either. That is one of the reasons why I write in this journal: To keep in touch with the written word, to read and exchange ideas. I have dozens of half finished stories. Maybe one day one of them will take off and I will be able to finish it. I don’t intend to give up.

I also don’t intend to tell Snoochie about the starving artist 🙂 She can worry about grown up life when she is actually grown up.

I don’t know what it is about writing. It’s more intimate than sex. I love the keyboard under my fingertips. I love the people in my imagination. I love assigning them names and personalities. Writing is awesome. DO write and love every minute of it. Don’t try to write to an audience (as in for money). Write from your deepest places, like giving birth. Enjoy every minute, and give yourself permission to be a writer.

You should finish those stories sweets 🙂 I bet they are awesome, I try to tell my kids its not about earning money its about being happy and no matter what they want to do they should try anyway 🙂 go and get yourself published hun stick it to the dream crusher! xxx